Book Description
The Sung Dynasty (960-1279) was a paradoxical era for Chinese women. This was a time when footbinding spread, and Confucian scholars began to insist that it was better for a widow to starve than to remarry. Yet there were also improvements in women's status in marriage and property rights. In this thoroughly original work, one of the most respected scholars of premodern China brings to life what it was like to be a woman in Sung times, from having a marriage arranged, serving parents-in-law, rearing children, and coping with concubines, to deciding what to do if widowed.
Focusing on marriage, Patricia Buckley Ebrey views family life from the perspective of women. She argues that the ideas, attitudes, and practices that constituted marriage shaped women's lives, providing the context in which they could interpret the opportunities open to them, negotiate their relationships with others, and accommodate or resist those around them.
Ebrey questions whether women's situations actually deteriorated in the Sung, linking their experiences to widespread social, political, economic, and cultural changes of this period. She draws from advice books, biographies, government documents, and medical treatises to show that although the family continued to be patrilineal and patriarchal, women found ways to exert their power and authority. No other book explores the history of women in pre-twentieth-century China with such energy and depth.
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive.......2001-12-25
This book presents a comprehensive portrait of the lives of women in Sung China (960-1279 AD). The author explores such topics as marriage, dowries, rites and celebrations, women's work, husband-wife relations, motherhood, widowhood, concubines, and match-making. Because of the need to rely on written materials for much of the information, and because literacy was restricted mainly to the educated and upper classes, the book naturally contains many more details about the lives of rich women than of the poor. Nevertheless, Ebrey was still able to distill some information about peasant women and families as well. The book will appeal to anyone interested in women's studies, Chinese history, or Asian area studies.
Book Description
This the first critical biography of Zahîr al-Dîn Muhammad Bâbur, the founder of one of the great premodern Islamic empires, the Timurid-Mughul empire of India. It contains an original evaluation of his life and writings as well as fresh insights into both the nature of empire building and the character of the Timurid-Mughul state.
Based upon recently published critical editions of Bâbur's autobiography and poetry, the book examines Bâbur's life from the time he inherited his father's authority in the Ferghanah valley, east of Samarqand, in 1494, until his death in Agra, India in 1530. The book is written in an alternating series of thematic and narrative chapters. The thematic or analytical chapters examine his major writings, discuss his cultural personality and his reaction to Indian culture, while the narrative chapters relate the story of his life while critically commenting on his autobiographical intent.
The book contributes to the history of the Timurid period, the study of early modern Islamic empires and the nature of autobiographical literature in Islamic and Asian societies. It is illustrated with fifteen colour plates and four maps.
Book Description
This accessible introduction to Inner Asia traces its history from the arrival of Islam, through the various dynasties to the Russian conquest. The contemporary focus rests on the seven countries that make up present-day Eurasia: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Sinkiang and Mongolia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, renewed interest in these countries has prompted considerable debate. While a divergent literature has evolved, no comprehensive survey of the region exists. This book will fill the gap and become indispensable for anyone studying or visiting the area.
Download Description
Svat Soucek's book offers a short and accessible introduction to the history of Inner Asia. The narrative, which begins with the arrival of Islam, charts the rise and fall of the different dynasties right up to the Russian conquest. Dynastic tables and maps augment and elucidate the text. The contemporary focus rests on the seven countries which make up the core of present-day Eurasia, that is Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Sinkiang and Mongolia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, renewed interest in these countries has prompted considerable political, cultural, economic and religious debate. While a divergent literature has evolved in consequence, no comprehensive survey of the region has been attempted. Soucek's history promises to fill this gap and to become an indispensable source of information for anyone studying or visiting the region.
Customer Reviews:
a very confusing book for beginner .......2007-05-08
There are few shortcomings of this book: needs more and better maps (unless you know Inner Asia geography very well), needs a glossary (too much foreign terms, needs a timetable (the author tend to go back and fore a lot). This book is not for beginner, I really hope he can write something less confuse.
Disappointing treatment of an interesting subject.......2006-10-23
By "Inner Asia" is meant the area corresponding roughly to modern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the Chinese province of Xinjiang. The history of this region is fascinating, and little known in the West. There is a clear need for books about it.
Unfortunately, "A History of Inner Asia" does not meet this need. It purports to cover nearly 1400 years, from the emergence of Islam to the present, but this coverage is very unbalanced - about a third of the book is devoted to the last 100 years. The challenge of a history covering such a diverse and complex region is to weave the threads into a coherent account. The author has not met this challenge. A lot of detail has been amassed between the covers of this book, but writing good history requires more than amassing detail. Consequently, the book does not engage the reader's interest.
The author displays a surprising failure of scholarship in his treatment of Chinese names. Instead of adopting the standard Pinyin transliterations, he uses an arbitrary mixture of transliterations, apparently at random. Mixed with Pinyin (Beijing, Xian) we find old Wade-Giles spellings (Hsi-Hsia, Hsuan-Tsang) and old British spellings derived from Cantonese pronunciation (Sinkiang). Sometimes the same Chinese character is represented in different ways on the same page! (Peiting, Beijing - the first syllable of both place-names is the Chinese character for "north"). Bei Lu is in Pinyin on page 266, but spelt "Peilu" in the index. Some of the transliterations do not follow any system; for example in Appendix 2, where the Chinese for "autonomous region" (zizhi qu, in pinyin) is rendered as "zeji chu". The author seems to have made it up, or possibly transliterated into the Latin alphabet from some Cyrillic transliteration.
A modern fascinating account.......2005-06-16
This book follows the history of 'inner asia' from the time of the Islamic conquests to modern day independence. The area covered is the steppe lands from Mongolia to the former soviet republics(Kazakhstan, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen and Kyrgiz) as well as the Sinkiang(Xinxiang/Uiguer) province of China. It covers with wonderful fluid writing the history from the original linguistic families of Turkic speaking tribesmen to the arrival of Islam. We see how the people were once Buddhist and how Arabic script colonized them only to be repalced by Cyrillic in modern times. We are told of the the story of the Kok Turks, and CHinese expansion into Inner and outer mongolia. Various dynasties are covered, including Persian influence and the lands of Bokhara and Khiva. The arrival of the Mongols is explained and the decline through to Soviet expansion
Most fascinating is the account brings us up to the modern day, explaining the Communist state of Mongolia and the Sovietization of Central Asia, including the various autonomous 'nations' the Soviets created for groups like the Bakshir nomads and other peoples of the Steppe, preserving, creating and in come cases fragmenting culture.
The soviets even impressed language onto peoples, such as the Uzbeks, giving alphabets and coercing natives. Modern times has seen war, famine, dictatorship, Chinese encroachment, Suppression, and of course Islamization of the region. Today seperatist movements are encoruaged in China and Pan-Turk ideals are pipe dreams.
This is inner asia, a fascinatign region of diverse culture and history, fascinting linguistic ties and a history that must be told and read. A Highly readable book about an amazing place and a wonderful people. Anyone interested in the world, in history or new ideas will enjoy this read.
Seth J. Frantzman
Average customer rating:
- very entertaining
- A brilliant travellogue from an exceptional writer and sinophile.
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In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan (Kolowalu Books)
John Defrancis
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
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ASIN: 0824814932 |
Customer Reviews:
very entertaining.......2006-08-27
Many professors have written memoirs of their early years -- how they got into the field, early academic experiences, etc. One of my favorites in this genre is E. Ullendorff's "The Two Zions". This book is not quite that kind of memoir. Instead, it is a travel narrative of the author's 1935 trek through the Gobi desert and on the Yellow River. The narrative account of life in rural 1935 China is fascinating, and makes this well worth reading. Anyone expecting tons of information on Chinese (based on all his other books) will find little. But the book is a great adventure tale and I recommend it.
A brilliant travellogue from an exceptional writer and sinophile........2006-08-14
John DeFrancis is a name that anyone with any serious interest in things Chinese will probably recognise. He's written and researched more than one Chinese-language dictionary, and is the author of many books on things Japanese and Chinese both.
He had a wealth of experience to draw upon, to include travelling, as the title states, in the footsteps of Genghis Khan through Northern China--a journey that would be impossible today due to the despo--er, because of political problems.
Reading this book, I was priveliged to learn many things about the folkways and history of China that I never saw in other books, and I was entertained all the way through. Not many books make it to my "Keeper" list, but this one's a cinch.
Book Description
Originally announced as Volume I of The Cambridge History of Central Asia, this book will now be published as a one volume history. (Volumes 2 and 3, previously announced, will not now be published.) This book introduces the geographical setting of Inner Asia and follows its history from the paleolithic era to the rise of the Mongol empire in the thirteenth century. From earliest times Inner Asia has linked and separated the great sedentary civilizations of Europe and Asia. In the pre-modern period it was definable more as a cultural than a geographical entity, its frontiers shifting accORD international scholars who have pioneered the exploration of Inner Asia's poorly documented past, this book chronologically traces the varying historical achievements of the disparate population groups in the region. These include the Scythians and Sarmatians, the Hsiung-nu, the Huns and Avars, the people of the Russian steppes, the Turk empire, the Uighurs and the Tibetan empire. It is the editor's hope that this book will bring Inner Asia more closely into the fabric of world history.
Book Description
This is a history of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia from the time of the first inhabitants of the region up to the break up of the Mongol Empire in 1260 AD. Inner Eurasia, as the author defines it, comprises most of the former Soviet Union and Russia's huge territories in Siberia; Russia's former empire in Central Asia; China's central Asian empire; and Mongolia, both the parts within China and those within the Mongolian People's Republic. The author presents Inner Eurasia as a coherent region with an underlying unity in geography and history despite its cultural and ecological variety.This volume, the first of two surveying this region, charts developments from the Old Stone Age, through changes under such peoples as the Scythians, the Huns and the Turks, to the emergence of an identifiable Rus - the society from which modern Russia and Ukraine have evolved. The book sets political events in the broadest context of social and economic change, linking evolution to the vast geography of the territories it describes. Together with volume II covering the period up to the present, the work represents the most thorough, up-to-date study of this fascinating and much misunderstood region of the world.
Customer Reviews:
Strong overall.......2001-06-14
This book is the only book to deal with the lands in question (Inner Asia) so thoroughly. I feel as if a large gap in my knowledge of history has been at least partially filled (there is always more to learn). Not that I'm without my complaints: the maps are few and far in between, the photographs poorly done. Sometimes, the book was downright boring, but that's to be expected with such an extensive book.
If you want to learn about the dynamic relationship between argricultural civilizations and pastoralist civilizations, read this book. It does leave some questions unanswered though. Such as, why did new tribes replace old tribes (ex: the Goths in Hungary, being pushed out by the Huns, who were pushed out by the Magyars)? What were the relative populations of the time? What was the relative demand for the goods of the steepe peoples? What was the trade balance between steppe and agricultural peoples?
Despite the questions, the book was worth the read.
A waste of paper, time and money.......2001-03-12
As an archaeologist working on the archaeology of North East Asia, I found this book a very big disappointment. Then again what should I expect from a historian whose speciality is the 18th and 19th century history of Russia?
The author draws heavily on secondary works in English, German, French and Russian. Instead of depending on those, he should have gone directly to the archaeological site reports and the historical annals themselves. Its also sad to see a synthesis on Russia and Central Asia that relies heavily on the works of English language scholars and ignoring the Russian and Mongolian language scholars. In terms of some of his English secondary sources, ones like Davis-Kimball et al. (NOMADS OF THE EURASIAN STEPPE) and Barfield's PERILOUS FRONTIER are still in print and available from AMAZON.COM.
Production values in this book are also uneven. The photographic reproductions in many cases are also poorly scanned copies (see for example p. 53, 214 in the paperback version). The publisher should have done a better job.
My advice: you can do a lot better (try the two suggestions above)
Superb.......2000-08-14
The life and times of Chingghis Khan were brilliantly written and I could recommend this book for the last 2 chapters alone. The rest of it was very good. Be prepared to re-read chapters if, like me, you weren't exposed to these regions in history. There are elements here important to scholars of China and Byzantium as well.
Simply fascinating.......2000-07-28
In these days of specialist books it is virtually impossible to find scholarly works that cover a broad spectrum of history. Inner Eurasian pre-history spans the history of a large part of mankind itself. It is home of the Indo-Europeans, a linguistic group that spread in pre-historic times to India, Iran, Asia Minor and Europe.
The impact of the warrior tribes from the Steppe lands - such as the Huns, the Goths, Vandals, Alans and the all-important Mongols - shattered some of the world's greatest empires. David Christian does a marvelous job explaining it all to us, while keeping the scholarly element intact throughout. It is a book I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone interested in the general history of mankind.
A Delight to read.......2000-04-18
This work is authoritive, detailed and were needed succinct and to the point with excellent references for further investigation. The use of charts, and illustrations give the detail needed to illustrate the information being refered too. I am looking forward to Volume 2 with great anticipation
Average customer rating:
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Mongolian Music, Dance, & Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities
Carole Pegg
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
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Where Rivers And Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, And Nomadism in Tuva And Beyond
ASIN: 0295980303 |
Book Description
This book celebrates the power of music, dance, and oral narrative to create identities by imaginatively connecting performers and audiences with ethnic and political groupings, global and sacred landscapes, histories and heroes, spirits and gods.
Three distinct cultural eras of Mongolian society are represented. Many Mongols are now performing publicly the diverse traditions of Old Mongolia that they practiced in private following the communist revolution of 1921; some are perpetuating the Soviet transformations of those traditions introduced prior to 1990; and yet others are dipping their curly-toed boots into new performance arts as they revel in musical encounters on the global stage. By highlighting the sheer variety of repertories, this book illustrates the rich diversity of Mongolia's peoples and performance arts.
An accompanying compact disc contains musical examples linked to the text.
Book Description
Based on the author's detailed diary, personal encounters, and keen memory, this book is a record of the inner history of the critical years of social and political upheaval that accompanied Japan's first encounters with the West around the time of the Meiji Restoration.
Sir Ernest Mason Satow (1843–1929) was a member of the British legation in Tokyo for twenty-one years.
Customer Reviews:
Japanese history comes alive.......2003-08-10
If you are interested in Japanese history this is a great book. It gives a firsthand account of events between 1862 and 1869 from the perspective of a foreigner, which covers the very important period of Japan opening to foreigners and the overturn of the shogunate. Sir Ernest Satow was witness to many of the important events that formed modern Japan in his function as a translator for the British Consulate. The book reports his various travels through Japan as an official, his interactions with members of the different Japanese clans, negotiations between the foreign representatives and the Japanese government, including the first audience with the Mikado granted to foreigners. The book makes history come alive and fills it with real-life people. It also shows firsthand the difficulties of foreigners in understanding the very different culture of Japan, at a time when there wasn't even proper teaching material to learn the language (not even a dictionary) to make this process easier. A great book for anybody who wants to further his or her understanding of Japan.
Average customer rating:
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Constructing Suiyuan: The Politics Of Northwestern Territory And Development in Early Twentieth-Century China (Brill's Inner Asian Library) (Brill's Inner Asian Library)
Justin Tighe
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Pub
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9004144668
Release Date: 2005-05-30 |
Product Description
This groundbreaking study sheds light on the mechanisms of Chinese nation and state making. Closely examining the remaking of Qing Inner Asia as Chinese provincial territory in the late Qing and Republican periods, the author focuses on the efforts of warlords and local Chinese elites in creating the new Inner Mongolian province of Suiyuan.
Based on a wide reading of rarely-accessed sources, the book explores land reclamation, the growth of counties and other ways by which Suiyuan gained provincial substance. It also carefully traces the emergence of a new national discourse on Northwestern territory and demonstrates its importance in placing Suiyuan within the Chinese Republic. More broadly speaking, Constructing Suiyuan offers comparative perspectives on the issues of space, territoriality and possession of place.
Customer Reviews:
Akira Iriye's book, Across the Pacific, speaks for itself.......2000-04-27
Across The Pacific: An Inner History of American - East Asian Relations was a great starting point. This book was my first exploration into the relationship between the United States and Japan before World War II. Across the Pacific does not just cover 1800 to WWII, but it covers the relations up until the late 1960's. The whole book is interesting, but the section that I personally found the most interesting was the issues that the United States and Japan were facing as the two countries moved apart before the second World War. It made me think about how much the world economic state and the control of resources play in foreign relations. It also brought to light some issues that surround imperialism, and in this case, the Japanese and the old British Empire. This book also made me aware of the power of perception if it is Cordell Hull or John MacMurray, and the role that they play.
I strongly recommend this this book, especially if you are looking for a starting point. I found Across the Pacific fascinating.
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